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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 271 records · Page 15
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2004

Effects of Freestream Turbulence on Turbine Blade Heat Transfer

Experiments have shown that moderate turbulence levels can nearly double turbine blade stagnation region heat transfer. Data have also shown that heat transfer is strongly affected by the scale of turbulence as well as its level. In addition to the stagnation region, turbulence is often seen to increase pressure surface heat transfer. This is especially evident at low to moderate Reynolds numbers. Vane and rotor stagnation region, and vane pressure surface heat transfer augmentation is often seen in a pre-transition environment. Accurate predictions of transition and relaminarization are critical to accurately predicting blade surface heat transfer. An approach is described which incorporates the effects of both turbulence level and scale into a CFD analysis. The model is derived from experimental data for cylindrical and elliptical leadng edges. Results using this model are compared to experimental data for both vane and rotor geometries. The comparisons are made to illustrate that using a model which includes the effects of turbulence length scale improves agreement with data, and to illustrate where improvements in the modeling are needed.

Boyle, Robert J.↗
NASA NTRS1959

Effects of Mach Number and Wall-Temperature Ratio on Turbulent Heat Transfer at Mach Numbers from 3 to 5

Heat-transfer data were evaluated from temperature time histories measured on a cooled cylindrical model with a cone-shaped nose and with turbulent flow at Mach numbers 3.00, 3.44, 4.08, 4.56, and 5.04. The experimental data were compared with calculated values using a modified Reynold's analogy between skin-friction and heat-transfer. Theoretical skin- friction coefficients were calculated using the method of Van Driest the method of Sommer and Short. The heat-transfer data obtained from the model were found to correlate when the 'T' method of Sommer and Short was used. The increase in turbulent heat-transfer rate with a reduction in wall to freestream temperature ratio was of the same order of magnitude as has been found for the turbulent skin-friction coefficient.

Tendeland, Thorval↗
NASA NTRS1983

Hypersonic shock tunnel heat transfer tests of the Space Shuttle SILTS pod configuration

Heat transfer measurements have been made on a 0.0175-scale NASA Space Shuttle orbiter model having a simulated SILTS (Shuttle Infrared Leeside Temperature Sensor) pod on top of the vertical tail. Heat transfer distributions were measured both on the pod and on the vertical tail. The test program covered Mach numbers of 8, 11 and 16 in air, at Reynolds numbers from 100,000 to 18 million, based on model length. The angle of attack ranged from 30 deg to 40 deg at sideslip angles from -2 to +2 deg. Data were obtained with 92 thin film assistance thermometers located on the SILTS pod and on the upper 30 percent of the vertical tail. Heat transfer rates measured on the vertical tail show good agreement with flight data obtained from missions STS-1, -2 and -3. The variation of heat transfer to the pod with Reynolds number, Mach number and angle of attack is discussed.

Wittliff, C. E.↗
NASA NTRS1992

An experimental study of heat transfer in a large-scale turbine rotor passage

An experimental study of the heat transfer distribution in a turbine rotor passage was conducted in a large-scale, ambient temperature, rotating turbine model. Heat transfer was measured for both the full-span suction and pressure surfaces of the airfoil as well as for the hub endwall surface. The objective of this program was to document the effects of flow three-dimensionality on the heat transfer in a rotating blade row (vs a stationary cascade). Of particular interest were the effects of the hub and tip secondary flows, tip leakage and the leading-edge horseshoe vortex system. The effect of surface roughness on the passage heat transfer was also investigated. Midspan results are compared with both smooth-wall and rough-wall finite-difference two-dimensional heat transfer predictions. Contour maps of Stanton number for both the rotor airfoil and endwall surfaces revealed numerous regions of high heat transfer produced by the three-dimensional flows within the rotor passage. Of particular importance are regions of local enhancement (as much as 100 percent over midspan values) produced on the airfoil suction surface by the secondary flows and tip-leakage vortices and on the hub endwall by the leading-edge horseshoe vortex system.

Blair, Michael F.↗
DOE OSTI2025

A Finite Element Method for Compressible and Turbulent Multiphase Flow Instabilities with Heat Transfer

We present a new finite element framework for modeling compressible, turbulent multiphase flows with heat transfer. For two-fluid systems with a free surface, the Volume of Fluid (VOF) method is implemented without the need for interface reconstruction, while turbulence is resolved using a dynamic Vreman large eddy simulation (LES) model. Unlike most two-phase VOF studies, which neglect heat transfer, the present approach incorporates energy transport equations within the VOF formulation to account for heat exchange, an effect particularly important in turbulent flows. Conjugate heat transfer is often challenging in finite volume methods, which require explicit specification of heat fluxes at the solid–fluid interface, limiting accuracy and predictive capability. By contrast, the finite element formulation does not require heat flux inputs, allowing more accurate and robust simulation of heat transfer between solids and fluids. The method is demonstrated through three representative cases. First, a two-fluid instability with a single-mode perturbation is simulated and validated against analytical growth rates. Second, conjugate heat transfer is examined in a high-temperature flow over a cold metal cylinder, with validation performed both quantitatively—via pressure coefficient comparisons with experimental data—and qualitatively using vector field topology. Finally, compressible spray injection and breakup are modeled, demonstrating the ability of the framework to capture interfacial dynamics and atomization under turbulent, high-speed conditions. In the compressible spray injection and breakup case, the results indicate that the finite element formulation achieved higher predictive accuracy and robustness than the finite-volume method. With the same mesh resolution, the FEM reduced the root mean square error (RMSE) and mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) from 6.96 mm and 26.0% (for the FVM) to 4.85 mm and 12.7%, respectively, demonstrating improved accuracy and robustness in capturing interfacial dynamics and heat transfer. The study also introduced vector field topology to visualize and interpret coherent flow structures and instabilities, offering insights beyond conventional scalar-field analyses.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2024

An Experimental Investigation of Sintered Particle Effect on Heat Transfer Performance in an “Annular Flow” Evaporation Tube

Wicking structures have been widely used within passive heat transfer devices with high heat fluxes, such as heat pipes, to enhance their thermal performance. While wicking structures promote capillary pumping of the working fluid and thin film evaporation, they can result in capillary evaporation and further enhance the evaporation heat transfer. In this study, a 0.5 mm thick layer of 105 µm sintered copper particles was added to the inner wall of a copper tube, aiming to form an “annular flow” and enhance the heat transfer characteristics by taking advantage of thin film and capillary evaporation. Acetone was chosen as the working fluid, and the performance of an evaporation tube was tested for power inputs of 10, 30, 50, and 70 W. For each power input, trials were run at inclination angles varying from -90 deg to 90 deg to investigate the capillary effects. The temperature measurements showed that the temperature distribution along the evaporation tube is always downward sloping, meaning the temperature at the fluid inlet is larger than the outlet. In conclusion, results show that an “annular flow” formed by a thin layer of sintered particles can promote thin film and capillary evaporation and, therefore, boost the evaporation heat transfer coefficient.

42 ENGINEERING↗
NASA NTRS1972

Effect of mass-addition distribution and injectant on heat transfer and transition criteria.

Surface pressures, heat-transfer rates, and transition locations for a sharp cone (whose semivertex angle is 12 deg) were obtained in a hypervelocity wind tunnel at a free-stream Mach number of 12 and a free-stream Re/ft range of 3,000,000 to 6,000,000. The effects of injecting either methane, nitrogen, or Freon-22 (at rates up to 2.1% of free-stream rate) were studied for a uniform injection-distribution and for a variable injection-distribution. Gaseous injection had little effect on the surface pressure measurements. For a given mass injection distribution, the laminar region heat-transfer decreases as the injection rate increases or as the molecular weight of the injectant decreases. For a given mass-injection rate (integrated over the surface of the entire cone), the transition location and heat-transfer rates were sensitive to the injection distribution. The transition Reynolds numbers were significantly greater when the local injection rate was constant over the surface of the cone.

Bertin, J. J.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Measurements of the Influence of Integral Length Scale on Stagnation Region Heat Transfer

The purpose was twofold: first, to determine if a length scale existed that would cause the greatest augmentation in stagnation region heat transfer for a given turbulence intensity and second, to develop a prediction tool for stagnation heat transfer in the presence of free stream turbulence. Toward this end, a model with a circular leading edge was fabricated with heat transfer gages in the stagnation region. The model was qualified in a low turbulence wind tunnel by comparing measurements with Frossling's solution for stagnation region heat transfer in a laminar free stream. Five turbulence generating grids were fabricated; four were square mesh, biplane grids made from square bars. Each had identical mesh to bar width ratio but different bar widths. The fifth grid was an array of fine parallel wires that were perpendicular to the axis of the cylindrical leading edge. Turbulence intensity and integral length scale were measured as a function of distance from the grids. Stagnation region heat transfer was measured at various distances downstream of each grid. Data were taken at cylinder Reynolds numbers ranging from 42,000 to 193,000. Turbulence intensities were in the range 1.1 to 15.9 percent while the ratio of integral length scale to cylinder diameter ranged from 0.05 to 0.30. Stagnation region heat transfer augmentation increased with decreasing length scale. An optimum scale was not found. A correlation was developed that fit heat transfer data for the square bar grids to within +4 percent. The data from the array of wires were not predicted by the correlation; augmentation was higher for this case indicating that the degree of isotropy in the turbulent flow field has a large effect on stagnation heat transfer. The data of other researchers are also compared with the correlation.

Vanfossen, G. James↗
NASA NTRS1987

Experiments on thermoacoustic convection heat transfer in gravity and zero-gravity environments

The results of an experimental study of thermoacoustic convection (TAC) heat transfer in gravity and zero-gravity environments are presented. The experimental apparatus consisted of a cylinder containing air as the compressible fluid. The enclosed air was heated electrically at the top surface which consisted of a thin high-resistance steel foil connected to a power source. Thermocouples were used to measure the transient temperature of the air on the axis of the cylinder and the heated surface in the both zero-gravity and gravity environments. The zero-gravity tests were performed in the Zero-Gravity Drop Tower Facility of NASA-Lewis Research Center. The experimental results were corrected for the error due to radiation absorption by the thermocouples. A conduction-only numerical heat transfer model was developed to compute the transient air temperature in the cylindrical geometry. The results were compared to the experimental data to determine the significance of the thermoacoustic convection heat transfer mechanism. It is observed that the rate of heat transfer to the air measured during the experiments is consistently higher than that obtained by the conduction-only solution indicating a significant presence of the TAC heat transfer. Further experiments are planned to measure directly (1) the radiative heat transfer contribution to the rise in the air temperature, and (2) the air pressure oscillations within the cylinder that are responsible for the convective heat transfer mode.

Parang, Masood↗
NASA NTRS1984

Heat transfer distributions around nominal ice accretion shapes formed on a cylinder in the NASA Lewis Icing Research Tunnel

Local heat transfer coefficients were obtained on irregular cylindrical shapes which typify the accretion of ice on circular cylinders in cross flow. The shapes were 2, 5, and 15 min accumulations of glaze ice and 15 min accumulation of rime ice. These icing shapes were averaged axially to obtain a nominal shape of constant cross section for the heat transfer tests. Heat transfer coefficients were also measured around the cylinder with no ice accretion. The models were run in a 15.2 x 68.6 cm (6 x 27 in.) wind tunnel at several velocities. The models were also run with a turbulence producing grid which gave about 3.5 percent turbulence. The effect of roughness was also simulated with sand grains glued to the surface. Results are presented as Nusselt number versus angle from the stagnation line for the smooth and rough models for both high and low levels of free stream turbulence. Roughness of the surface in the region prior to flow separation plays a major role in determining the heat transfer distribution. Free stream turbulence does not affect the distribution of heat transfer in this region but raises the level by a nearly uniform amount. For the rime shape, roughness had a larger effect in the near wedge shaped region past the initial separation point.

Van Fossen, G. J.↗
NASA NTRS1960

Preliminary Heat-Transfer Measurements on a Hypersonic Glide Configuration Having 79.5 degree Sweepback and 45 degree Dihedral at a Mach Number of 4.95

An experimental investigation was conducted to evaluate the heat-transfer characteristics of a hypersonic glide configuration having 79.5 deg of sweepback (measured in the plane of the leading edges) and 45 of dihedral. The tests were conducted at a nominal Mach number of 4.95 and a stagnation temperature of 400 F. The test-section unit Reynolds number was varied from 1.95 x 10(exp 6) to 12.24 x 10(exp 6) per foot. The results indicated that the laminar-flow heat-transfer rate to the lower surface of the model decreased as the distance from the ridge line increased except for thermocouples located near the semispan at an angle of attack of 00 with respect to the plane of the leading edges. The heat-transfer distribution (local heating rate relative to the ridge-line heating rate) was similar to the theoretical heat-transfer distribution for a two-dimensional blunt body, if the ridge line was assumed to be the stagnation line, and could be predicted by this theory provided a modified Newtonian pressure distribution was used. Except in the vicinity of the apex, the ridge-line heat-transfer rate could also be predicted from two-dimensional blunt-body heat-transfer theory provided it was assumed that the stagnation-line heat-transfer rate varied as the cosine of the effective sweep (sine of the angle of attack of the ridge line). The heat-transfer level on the lower surface and the nondimensional heat-transfer distribution around the body on the lower surface were in qualitative agreement with the results of a geometric study of highly swept delta wings with large positive dihedrals made in reference 1.

Stainback, Calvin↗
NASA NTRS1988

The effects of turbulence and stator/rotor interactions on turbine heat transfer. II - Effects of Reynolds number and incidence

Part I of this paper presents airfoil heat transfer data obtained in a rotating turbine model at its design rotor incidence. This portion of the paper presents heat transfer data obtained in the same model for various combinations of Reynolds number and inlet turbulence and for a very wide range of rotor incidence. On the suction surfaces of the first stage airfoils the locations and lengths of transition were influenced by both the inlet turbulence level and the Reynolds number. In addition it was demonstrated that on the first stage pressure surfaces combinations of high Reynolds number and high turbulence can produce heat transfer rates well in excess of two-dimensional turbulent flow. Rotor heat transfer distributions indicate that for relatively small deviations from the design incidence, local changes to the heat transfer distributions were produced on both pressure and suction sides near the stagnation region. For extremely large negative incidence the flow was completely separated from the rotor pressure surface producing very high local heat transfer.

Blair, M. F.↗
DOE OSTI2022

Advanced metal hydride heat transfer system utilizing an electrochemical hydrogen compressor

An electrochemical heat transfer device utilizes an electrochemical hydrogen compressor to pump hydrogen into and out of a reservoir having a metal hydride forming alloy therein. The absorption of hydrogen by the metal hydride forming alloy is exothermic, produces heat, and the desorption of the hydrogen from the metal hydride forming alloy is endothermic and draws heat in. An electrochemical hydrogen compressor may be configured between to reservoirs and pump hydrogen back and forth to form a heat transfer device. A heat exchange device may be coupled with the reservoir or may comprise the outer surface of the reservoir to transfer heat to an object or to the surroundings. A closed loop may be configured having two reservoirs and one or two electrochemical hydrogen compressors to pump the hydrogen in a loop around the system.

Bahar, Bamdad↗
DOE OSTI2024

Advanced metal hydride heat transfer system utilizing an electrochemical hydrogen compressor

An electrochemical heat transfer device utilizes an electrochemical hydrogen compressor to pump hydrogen into and out of a reservoir having a metal hydride forming alloy therein. The absorption of hydrogen by the metal hydride forming alloy is exothermic, produces heat, and the desorption of the hydrogen from the metal hydride forming alloy is endothermic and draws heat in. An electrochemical hydrogen compressor may be configured between to reservoirs and pump hydrogen back and forth to form a heat transfer device. A heat exchange device may be coupled with the reservoir or may comprise the outer surface of the reservoir to transfer heat to an object or to the surroundings. A closed loop may be configured having two reservoirs and one or two electrochemical hydrogen compressors to pump the hydrogen in a loop around the system.

Bahar, Bamdad↗
NASA NTRS2012

Measurement of Two-Phase Flow and Heat Transfer Parameters using Infrared Thermometry

A novel technique to measure heat transfer and liquid film thickness distributions over relatively large areas for two-phase flow and heat transfer phenomena using infrared (IR)thermometry is described. IR thermometry is an established technology that can be used to measure temperatures when optical access to the surface is available in the wavelengths of interest. In this work, a midwave IR camera (3.6-5.1 microns) is used to determine the temperature distribution within a multilayer consisting of a silicon substrate coated with a thin insulator. Since silicon is largely transparent to IR radiation, the temperature of the inner and outer walls of the multilayer can be measured by coating selected areas with a thin, IR opaque film. If the fluid used is also partially transparent to IR, the flow can be visualized and the liquid film thickness can be measured. The theoretical basis for the technique is given along with a description of the test apparatus and data reduction procedure. The technique is demonstrated by determining the heat transfer coefficient distributions produced by droplet evaporation and flow boiling heat transfer.

Kim, Tae-Hoon↗
NASA NTRS2006

Heat Transfer In High-Temperature Multilayer Insulation

The combined radiation/conduction heat transfer in high-temperature multilayer insulations for typical reentry of reusable launch vehicles from low Earth orbit was investigated experimentally and numerically. The high-temperature multilayer insulation investigated consisted of gold-coated reflective foils separated by alumina fibrous insulation spacers. The steady-state heat transfer through four multilayer insulation configurations was investigated experimentally over the temperature range of 300-1300 K and environmental pressure range of 1.33 10(exp -5)-101.32 kPa. It was shown that including the reflective foils reduced the effective thermal conductivity compared to fibrous insulation sample at 1.5 times the density of the multilayer sample. A finite volume numerical model was developed to solve the governing combined radiation/conduction heat transfer equations. The radiation heat transfer in the fibrous insulation spacers was modeled using the modified two-flux approximation assuming anisotropic scattering and gray medium. The numerical model was validated by comparison with steady-state experimental data. The root mean square deviation between the predicted and measured effective thermal conductivity of the samples was 9.5%.

Daryabeigi, Kamran↗